STAAR Poetry Terms Grades 3 & 4

Stanza
Like a paragraph but in poem.

A group of two or more lines.

rhythm
the beats of a poem–series of stressed and unstressed syllables

repetition
to repeat something over and over…. to repeat something over and over

free verse
poem that has no formal structure, no rhythm, and no rhyme

rhyme scheme
Rhyme pattern — shows the pattern of rhyming lines in a poem. Examples of rhyme pattern are: AABB ABAB ABCA

Line break
the line of a poem stops and is continued on the next line even though there is plenty of space and the idea continues. This is done for a certain effect.

Line length
how long the lines in a poem are

Speaker
Who is talking in the poem

similes
comparison of things that have something in common using “like” or “as”

metaphors
comparison between two unlike things WITHOUT using like or as

Figurative Language
Words that do not mean exactly what they say

Imagery
Words that paint a picture by mentioning things you can see, smell, hear, taste, and touch

Theme
Main idea or topic. For example: friendship, love, life

Symbol
Words that stand for a bigger idea. For example: dove = peace

italics
Words that are written in a way that looks slanted

sensory language
Words or phrases that helps a reader see, hear, feel something.

synonym
A word that means the same as another word.

Narrative poetry
Poetry that tells a story.